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MIGRATION TO AMERICA
Bering Strait land bridge
Nomadic people
Following herds
Start to settle across N. & S. America
MESOAMERICA
“Middle America”
Domesticate animals and plants (8500BC-2000BC)
Maize, potatoes, tomatoes, beans
Populations boomed great cities
FIRST GROUP: OLMECS
“Mother Culture”
Tropical forests along Gulf of Mexico, 1500 BC-400
BC
Trade influenced other cultures
Carved stone art, calendar, hieroglyphics
THE MAYA
300 BC to 900 AD The
Classic Period
Yucatán Peninsula to
Central America
Never an empire: city-
states
Ex: Tikal (most powerful)
Each ruled by chief
SOCIETY & FARMING
Most are farmers
Slash and burn to forests
Raised fields on rivers
Maize, beans, cotton, tropical flowers
Food taxes
Polytheistic
Central to life
Priests very powerful
Elaborate ceremonies
ACHIEVEMENTS
Hieroglyphics
Create codexes
Many burned by Spanish
Astronomy
Very accurate
365 day solar calendar
Complex numbering system
& value of zero
AZTECS
1200s-1500s
Called selves Mexica
In modern day Mexico
Why?
Wandered for 200 yrs looking for a sign
An eagle with a serpent trapped in its mouth, atop a prickly cactus growing on a rock submerged in a lake.
Finally found this off an island in Lake Texcoco
Built their capital city, Tenochtitlán, large population
GOVERNMENT & RELIGION
Single empire
Emperor meant to lead in war
Called “The Great Speaker”
Polytheistic
Huitzilopochtli – supreme god
Quetzecotal – feathered-serpent god (god of earth and
water)
Priests very powerful
Human sacrifices
Beleived the gods sacrificed themselves, so should man
SCIENCE
Believed illness caused by the gods
Herbs and meds
Set broken bones/fill cavities
Steam baths
Accurate calendar
Hieroglyphics
DECLINE
Spanish invaders in 1500s (Conquistadors)
Hernado Cortes
GOVERNMENT
Empire
God-King called “Sapa Inca”
Owned all lands, herds, mines,
& people
Coya—queen, in charge of
religious duties
Efficient government with
trained officials
RELIGION & FARMING
Polytheistic—linked to nature
Monthly rituals/offerings
Priests powerful
Farming
Step terraces
Potatoes and maize
ACHIEVEMENTS
Unified empire with road networks
14,000 miles through mts & deserts
Llamas
Skilled metalwork & weavers
Wool from llamas
Copper, tin, bronze
Surgery on skull, antiseptics, &
mummification